A Lame Relays Cup, Grass Stains and Gettin' Ready for Church

Hawkeyes 4x1600 Victory

Congrats to the Iowa Hawkeyes Women's 4 x 1600 team who won the event on Thursday at the Drake Relays distance carnival. I'm not sure why the call it a carnival, averaging a 4:49 mile each, that seems like it would hurt. The three seniors and 1 junior deserve the victory beating those Gophers by 1 second!

Someone asked me if it would be disappointing if my daughters didn't run track. Don't run track, that's silly talk...

I ran the 8k and said hi to Anthony Pudlo on the other side of the turn who proceeded to cross the median and run with me, the wrong way, other runners thought he was cheating, but couldn't catch him to say anything. Then he turned back around and ran another 11 miles. I did pretty well for having a back with a piece of protruding disc and I think a re-aggravated stress fracture in my left foot. You guys might remember Speedy Gonzales, but I was more like his cousin:

Slow Poke Rodriguez, the slowest mouse in all of Mexico.

Hopefully, I'll be able to pick up the pace at Dam to Dam after wearing my boot for a while, let me know if you're running we can all meet up at the beginning. It's the weekend after Sejal's wedding.

Thanks to Kinzie and Andee who helped us out by watching the girls last night so Mindy and I could go to the BBQ and Jethro's and Peggy's! 

Peggys Cups 

Every year Peggy's has a cup for relays and the rhyme is kind of cool, last year's was:

Keg after Keg
Cup after Cup
Relays at Peggy's
That's what's up.

Poetically it's an abcb rhyme scheme with repetition in the first and second lines making for the kind of sing-song poetry one wants to recite while in the back of Peggy's during relays.

This year there was agreement that it was pretty lame and I thought I would follow through with a poetic analysis.

Relays,
Not a day
Not a week
But a lifestyle
Peggy's Tavern

so no rhyme scheme, anaphora with not and not, the syllable count slides down from 2 in the first line, 3 in the second and third and 4 in the fourth and fifth, but overall, this poem didn't come together so I thought I'd try a couple of my own.

#1
Peggy's is where
You'll stumble to
When you break up
Need to find someone new

#2
When the Jethro's wait
is way too long
Drink it up at Peggy's
party with the throng

of blue and white
staying up all night
the ribs will be there
for your hangover fare

#3
When's it chilly at Relays
and you need to warm up
Have a drink at Peggy's 
Find a friend to ...

Grass Stains
So before Peggy's there was an amazing off-campus bbq that we went to and a flip cup game that covered three consecutive tables. At one point I thought it was a good idea to play full cup flip cup, and that's how the grass stains happened.

Grass Stains from my Dive

 So, it was my turn to flip and the table was so wet that the cup slid across the table and onto the ground so I dove under the table, retrieved the cup and flipped after two tries. Sorry, Cooper, no one flip done on that one. It all made sense to do that at the time.

A couple of pictures of the girls:

Girls getting ready for church, gotta eat, used to be we had to have her on her side, now Brielle can drink from her back.

Rianne very serious about catching the flying elephant.

Um. Maybe we need to give Teagan a lower calorie formula, that's a big belly.

Teagan looking spiffy for church.

Rianne's lookin' Cute.

Brielle, apparently, still hungry.

They can move around...sort of

On April 23rd, 1962 The First US Spacecraft to reach another celestial body crash impacted into the moon and it was thought that no photos were returned -- until now.

If you'll notice they are all wearing bibs, but not eating. That's because we have discovered three members a lost dinosaur species.  - the droolosauri

Teagan and Rianne realize, a little too late, the boat is supposed to be in the water, the water is not supposed to be in the boat. See previous post about returning honors student bumper stickers.

There hasn't been much new this week. The girls are able to sit up on their own and play for hours which is exciting for us. We have to make sure there is enough room between them so they don't steal each others toys. Teagan has perfected her army crawl and can get anywhere. She is still trying to figure out how to move her hands forward so she can crawl. It's bound to happen any time now.

They are getting too big for the bouncer chairs :( It will be a sad day when we have to pack them away.Until then, Rianne will continue to exert her feminist right to keep her legs uncrossed. 

Plank

Half Plank

Just hanging at the Oxygen bar playing with my giraffe. 


 Brielle and Rianne don't know the difference between a toy and the bear on the rear of Teagan's pants.

Hold her down. Get the bear. Get the bear!

With the 2012 Olympics coming up, it seemed now would be a good time to evaluate the girls potential as gymnasts.

Brielle: Floor Exercise, Balance Beam, Uneven Bars and Vault. While the shortest of the girls, she is the most proportional and a well balanced all-around competitor. Plus she's cute because she looks like Mindy.

Teagan: Floor Exercise and Uneven Bars. Excellent mat work and strong arms. Has a tough time on Balance Beam with Daddy's head on Mindy's body. See first picture of blog for Vault comments.

Rianne: Excellent on Vault, has been bouncing since 3 months. Uneven Bars - long arms and legs provide graceful Khorkina like lines. Balance Beam - graceful and balanced presence until she bonks her head leaning too far to the right or left. Floor Exercise - Did not compete. Assumes plank position, looks up with very cute but confused look, has not mastered A level skill - crawling.

The kids get out of the house, meet new people, and learn to sleep all night

Well we are a little behind in our posts so we'll attempt to recollect everything that has happened the past couple weeks.

Easter 
Teagan and Rianne made their first appearance at church. They did really well and were entertained by just looking around. They then made their first trip to their great grandma and grandpa Pauk's farm. It was so nice to be able to take part in family activities and not be on house arrest. Brielle is still on oxygen so we are being cautious with her so she stayed at home with Tony.

Where's Daddy? We're on his couch.

Not pictured: Joy doing a round off back handspring to distract the girls.

Mommy didn't want him in some scruffy 5K t-shirt in this picture, that's why he was late.

Great Grandpa Nelson, Grandma and Grandpa Guerra, and Uncle Chris Tony's family all made the trip to Iowa to meet the girls.

 Rianne: How do yo like my toes?

Baptism 
The girls were baptized on April 15th at Lutheran Church of Hope Ankeny. They girls did so well at church. We weren't that family with the screaming child! Thank you to everyone who came to church for their special day.

Grandmom Joy. Grandmom MaryAnn. Three girls watching Bad Teacher.

Ahhhh! Take the picture. Take the picture. He's going to drop us!

Grandmom Guerra. I won the lottery -- All Girls! (They drove 19 hours straight to get to Iowa!)

We couldn't Photoshop it so everyone looked in the same direction

  
Sleep Training 
Last week we started sleep training. The girls were put to sleep drowsy but awake at nap time after they were fed and read a book and a sang a song. I did the same at night time (Tony was sent away for a couple days) and when they woke up at night I let them cry for a bit and went in and patted their butts if necessary. After three nights and help from my sister Megan and our nanny Elise, all the girls have slept thru the night!! Tony and I were actually hanging out together on the couch a couple nights ago!

The girls are 9 months- 6 months adjusted. 
Teagan is now rolling and army crawling all over the place. It won't be long till she starts to crawl. We have a lot of baby proofing to do! Teagan can sit up but not for too long (she has a big head). The girls have all had really runny and stuffy noses and Teagan was put on Amoxicillin. She LOVES the stuff. As soon as I start to shake it up she goes crazy. I'll try and get a video. Teagan now has two teeth and constantly jabbers.

One handin' it. Holla!

Rianne can sit up by herself but often falls backwards so we have to sit behind her.

Brielle can sit up by herself with little help. She can also roll and move herself around to find toys. Brielle loves to jump in the bouncer now and can jabber up a storm when she wants to.

The girls are eating quite a bit (27-30 ounces of formula, one 4 ounce jar of fruit each at lunch, two 4 ounce jars of vegetables mixed with rice for dinner for the three) and seem to be getting heavy. They were discharged from homecare so we don't get frequent weights anymore. They only thing that the girls don't enjoy is peas.

I lose it worse than Tiger Woods on 16

The night time wake ups have been taking their toll on Mindy and I for the last couple weeks and I lost it on Friday morning.

I can't hit the ball that well much less hit a flying club?

Here's a video of Teagan and Brielle:

You would think that what I needed was a long time away from them, or some drugs or both, but I actually like being around my kids and it was getting to spend time alone with Brielle was what really helped.


Yesterday, in the late afternoon as The Masters was winding down the sun shines pretty bright into our living room and we usually have to move the kids away. Well, Teagan took a trip to Gracie, Angie and Craig's and Rianne took a trip to Joy's so it was just Brielle and I.


I had her propped standing looking down on me (that's two feet above me) while I was lying down on the couch and she was pretty smiley. Then she looked to her left in surprise as she saw her shadow and looked back at me to see if I saw it too.

She tapped at it, pushed at it, then yes, tried to eat it.

Random: Just kind of reminded me of the Peter Pan story where Peter (in the original 1910 Barrie edition, gets his shadow caught in the window sill) In Hook, that happens in the play that starts the movie.

Anyway, it was kind of cool to spend 3 hours with her alone, put her to bed, feel like a normal parent with one child if only for an evening. We'll probably spend most of Easter together and I'm sure there will be Easter pictures coming.

Until then, Mindy continues to try to help me learn to feed the kids and I'm not doing well there either.

Mindy Feeding Teagan Apple Sauce

I'm feeding Rianne prunes. Yes, she is double bibbed, a cloth and plastic one.

 I prefer to let them do it themselves:

So much easier!

.

Random Pic: One month's supply of baby food. For one girl. We will need 9 a day or 270 jars a month.

On a totally different note, I got to read my poem Baby Colors, about Brielle's CPR last week at Beaverdale Books and here is the final revision.

It's published in Expressions Literary Magazine a little bit differently. This includes the editing advice from Poet Joseph Millar that I met with last week.

Baby Colors

Tummy to mat, baby sleeps,

Daddy watches.

The television’s pixel sea

bathes the nursery in soft hues.

The Scarlet and Black bend

before the Cardinal and Gold.

Three red baby-monitor lights fire

sound a siren.

No breaths?

A false alarm?

Turn her.

Flick the foot.

Flick the foot – hard.

She gurgles as shocked cerulean eyes

jump open to plead – help me

Purple lips quiver

Exhausted eyelids slide shut. 

Daddy SCREAMS for mom.

No answer. 

Airway? Sweep it.

Baby throws up white formula froth and tiny red violin strings.

Breath in? No.

Circulation? Don’t know.    

Rip the sleeper. Start compressions.

Careful.

Under the xiphoid.

Protect her.

Daddy SCREAMS for mom.

No answer.

Brielle turns crimson

Limbs fall limp.

Daddy’s failing. Oh, God,

Daddy’s failing.

Mom hurries in. She says, “I was just…Oh, no.”

She launches a white lightning missive

 to a satellite, bouncing it earthward,

relaying their need to the black-and-white .

Husband and wife kneel

Work a wordless, woeful duet. 

Compressions and breaths.

For better or for worse.

In sickness and in health.

They look to each other with fraught tears,

Prayers go unanswered.

Now, outside of themselves

– an ethereal audience.

Just…sweep it again.

Brielle gags. Coughs. Sputters.

Wipe the mouth. Suction the nose.

Breath in?

Yes, but… she’s still purple?

Run.

Follow the plastic green tube.

Up the oxygen.  Turn the dial.

2-3-4-5 liters in.

Wind whistles through the cannula

 into her tiny nose.

 “How is she?” a policeman asks.

Mother and father bend

–  frozen,

Giving extra breaths

 – silently,

They look.

Sob.

Collapse.

“She’s pink.”

 

Opening Day

The kiddos are decked out in their Cardinals gear. I expect they won't see many Baltimore Orioles games anytime soon.

Wow. Miami paid a lot of money to lose on opening day!

The beatings have continued as these three 2 foot tall girls are continuing to have issues. Teagan had a couple of days where her tooth was coming in, Brielle continues to alarm in the middle of the night as she wriggles out of her monitor belt and now Rianne has been incorrigible and we don't know what the etiology is. Just keeps fussing/crying/screaming.

It's hard to believe that in six weeks we'll have the anniversary of "the call" where Mindy lets me know she's not coming home. Who knew it would be for 55 days?

I got some pretty good pics from ground level, but I feel like these happy pictures paint a really different picture. Right now Angie is holding Rianne but she is not screaming, but fussing, complaining...maybe a tooth, constipation or just crankiness. Another long night is ahead with I'm guessing hour long intervals of trying to get her back down....


So, on to our show.

Shark Week!

The Brielle Shark in Hiding...

The Attack

The Kill!

Um. She was just eating that sock. Ew.

Teagan freaks out when she sees an iPhone!

And the First Tooth goes to: Teagan

Well, the tooth is still under the gum line, but we can feel it. She's made this last couple of days some of the worst we'd had in a long time. She'll get up SCREAMING every hour and needs to be rocked a long...long...long...long...long...long...time.

Teagan feeling for her tooth.

We think Rianne is also getting a tooth coming from up top and Brielle, well, she's cranky whether she has a tooth or not, though her daytime demeanor has been pretty amazing.

I'm watching frozen planet and the male penguins, after waiting all winter, holding the egg, finally get something to eat! However, the female penguins, have been eating all winter and one penguin was so fat she jumped and ran into a wall. I feel like her. Hopefully, this summer I will shed some of my winter fat, though I continue my emotional eating when the kids get unmanageable along with the chronic lower back pain and sleep deprivation ... I've reduced my menu, but can still make a single serving out of a lot of ... family serving items. Mindy continues to be amazingly skinny, and even if she weren't, well, I'm no dummy.

We've got their baptism coming up here in a few weekends when my parents come out to Iowa and I am so excited. I haven't seen my family for over a year and my mom, brother and grandfather have never met the children so it's going to be amazing! Plus it's my 20th, 30th, 40th birthday on April 17th. I wanted to run the 800 meter masters in the Drake Relays in April but right now my fitness is such that I could only run one of the 400 meter laps at a 'non-embarrasing' pace. Maybe next year, I'm not running unless I can get around 2:20 for the 800 meters. My foot is still goofy, but I'm starting to build some good swimming fitness and will gradually build back up.

No really, enough about me, here's a preview of the girls' dresses. We just tried it on Teagan to see if it works, I hope this dress isn't like a bridal dress where no one is supposed to see until the big baptism day.

Most ladies try to slim down to get into a dress. We've got two weeks to make them big enough!

Another bottle? Sounds delicious!

 I'm not sure what to say about this next picture. Megan captured a great picture of the girls.

And I'm pretty much like, Oh my gosh, our 8 month old daughter (Brielle) has cleavage. Not true, she has her monitor belt on that's pushing everything together. I really am at a loss for words.

 

Our Daughter is feeding herself. We put two Our Daughter is an Honors Student bumper stickers on our Cars.

The School Board asks for the bumper stickers back.

My insecurities about my daughters as teenager aside, Brielle has started talking, well, it's a language we don't really understand completely but here are some YouTube clips.

Brielle Part II. Failure to Launch.

Going to try to go to sleep.

Thanks again to everybody that came over this weekend to help. It's keeping us off the cliff.